Our second client job, the big one~by Beth

We were very blessed to be a part of a large reno at one of the older park models.  Jon did a lot of the carpentry and supervised the job over the months it took to complete it.  Charity and I did a lot of work there as well.  We began in the Summer, mostly after we returned from our vacation (that post is coming).  It went through the first few days of November when the snow bird, who was renting this home, was due to arrive.
It began with a total gut of the kitchen.  It was old and not well made.  At the time code allowed 2 x 4 joists, and 1 x 1 trusses.  There was water damage under a window, and termite damage on that side which required replacing the bottom plate in segments.  Jon reinforced every 2 x 4 and put cross bracing in as well.  Then we put in new insulation and laid new subfloor using plywood.  The previous subfloor was press board which turned to sawdust as we removed it.  Then there was the reinforcing of the trusses, first with gussets and then 2 x 4 x 12' spanning the width of the kitchen.  Between Jon, Charity, our friend Art and me, we were able to get the whole ceiling level across both the width and the length of the whole kitchen.  Jon would not give up until everything was level with everything else.
I was able to help the client with flooring, paint, and counter selections.  We did all the painting, including the new front door, which we subbed out for installation.  Charity did a huge amount of work when we laid the new vinyl floor.
The electrical and plumbing were subbed out, along with a lot of the drywall (we did a wall going down the hall) mudding, and texturing.  We also had the cupboards and counter installation subbed out.  The result was just beautiful.  The pictures tell the story.

I really enjoyed working together on this project.  We had a great client to work for.  I hope we do more of these renos in the future.

Dad's health scare~by Beth

As our parents age it is no surprise that their health will decline.  On Labor Day my mom had her usual cook out with family for the last day of "Summer."  This past year my parents celebrated their 60th anniversary on Labor Day and had a cake, which would actually happen a couple days later.  The very next morning life would change.

Mom couldn't get Dad up so she had him taken to the hospital.  He had a UTI but it was so bad that they told the family he would not live.  I booked a flight on that Saturday and flew in, hoping he would last through the flight till I arrived.  All my siblings, except my brother in England, and several of their family members were in the room when I got there.  I was able to share Scripture with Dad and then we all sang a few songs to him.  We all were in choir when in school so we really sounded good.

Dad seemed to know who I was

Dad was not ready to pass into eternity, and though they had stopped feeding and hydrating him, the Monday after I arrived my brother and I got him back on food and water.  He was then transferred to a nursing home.  The weather was still warm and beautiful so I took Dad outside for some fresh air.  He seemed to do well after a little adjustment time (getting out of bed and even falling).

While I was there my brother and sister-in-law took me to a football game at our alma mater, Lutheran West.  It was great to be back there and I even bumped into some people that I knew, including my sister's husband Woody.  What are the chances?!

I even got a chance to meet up  with my aunties, who are my mom's sisters.  One lives in town but one lives in Arizona and happened to be in town.  She extended her stay for a week since we initially thought we would be having a funeral.  She also came to church with us Sunday.
I don't know how long God has planned for my father to live on this earth, but he will be 90 years old in August.  I am grateful for the opportunity to have visited and thank God for a father who is so godly.

Renovations for clients~by Beth

Though a lot of life happens between my posts, I want to write today about something that has come our way.  First, Jonathan took over as pastor of the village church beginning in the Spring of 2019.  We didn't have services in the Summer at either park.  During that time Jon got a big reno job from our friend, and chairman of the congregation, Kris.  She has a rental in the village that needed a complete kitchen gut and reno, plus some other work.  That's a post for another day.  Also in the Spring Jon was asked to renovate a master closet for another couple in the village whom I will call the Bs.  They were gone during the Summer and most of the Fall so we had plenty of time to think about how to best use the space and to do the work.  Here are the before pictures:

Shower access

The previous owners had brought the washer and dryer into
the house and put it in a closet off the hallway which shared a wall with the master closet.  The problem was that the closet wasn't deep enough for the appliances, so they simply cut out the wall and pushed them in 6-7 inches.  We took the job and went on vacation to Ohio and Texas.  When we returned we began on the demo and tried to piece together a solution for covering up the eyesore of the appliances butting into the closet and utilize every square inch we could.  As projects go, usually it is a work in progress.  I was the main designer and it gave me a lot of joy to see my ideas come to life.  We had to tear down the drywall on the washer/dryer side of the closet.  It was in bad shape anyway, but we needed to put a lot of bracing in to accommodate the shelves and rods we planned to put in.

a peek into the hallway

Building the cover up for washer/dryer

Then we drywalled, taped, and mudded.  I usually end up sanding a lot of drywall mud because Jon likes to put it on thickly.  This time I did most of the mudding and the sanding and I learned that I was pretty good at it.  Of course I did watch some tutorials on Youtube first.  I also did all the painting.  Jon can do it but he tends to be too hasty with it so we have learned to do the jobs we are better at.  He is great at carpentry.  He did a great job on the beadboard, making the decorative shelf, baseboard, and putting up the shelves and clothes rods.  We also had our friend Art secure the electrical outlet for the dryer to a stud.  It was only screwed into drywall.

Cover is clad with a veneer

Painted and finished

Baseboard 

I used her collection of hooks and spray painted them with a metalic gray, followed by a coat of clear enamel to protect them.  She had about three styles of hooks, so by painting them a uniform color they became an eclectic group.  But I got a little to heavy handed with the clear coat that caused the paint to bubble up.  I had to sand, repaint and then recoat with the enamel.  The bottom one was perfect but the top three had to be redone.  ARGH.  I did a total of 6 hooks

I also decided to stain the top to the washer/dryer cover.  It needed a bit of drama to break up the white.  We got two pieces of nicer wood.  I stained them twice, then added 3 coats of polyurethane, which I picked up at the Habitat for Humanity Restore.  Score!  I was super happy with how it turned out.  Jon then cut it to size and installed it.

staining

Love that shine with the poly

Installed

Here is the finished product.  This was such a fun project.  It was a lot of work but turned out so beautifully.

We added new covers for the plumbing access on the opposite wall

Stevie and I went for a swim after working one night at the park pool.  Whew it is hot in Florida.